Palazzo subcommittee OKs $17.6 billion for NASA

The Space Subcommittee on Tuesday approved the NASA Authorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4412) with unanimous bipartisan support, according to a release from Rep. Steven Palazzo, R-4, and chairman of the subcommitee.

According to a copy of the bill posted on the subcommittee's website, the bill would appropriate $17.6 billion for the agency, including $4.1 billion for space exploration, $3.8 for space exploration, $5.1 billion for science, $566 million for aeronautics, $576 million for space technology, $116 million for education, $2.8 billion for cross-agency support, $515 million for construction and environmental compliance and restoration and $37.5 million for the inspector general.

The Subcommittee also approved a bipartisan Palazzo-Edwards amendment that ensures sustainability of purpose and budget for high-priority NASA programs, the release said. The amendment reaffirms Congress’s commitment to space exploration, both human and robotic, and makes clear that a human mission to Mars is the goal for NASA’s human spaceflight program with biennial reports for what progress has been made toward that goal.

"This agreement represents this subcommittee’s commitment to our nation’s leadership in space and a secure future for NASA," Palazzo said. "Finding bipartisan agreement in an austere budget environment is never an easy task, and our work is not done. I feel this is good first step.”

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